In the past, the torso portion of space suits has either been constructed from mostly flexible materials as in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space suits, or from rigid composite shells as in the Space Shuttle or Space station space suits. Both approaches served their purpose well but exhibit limitations that can be improved upon through the hybridization of rigid and flexible materials technologies. The major drawbacks with torsos made from mostly flexible materials are that they take on a cylindrical shape when pressurized that does not match the human body and therefore don't fit perfectly, and they lack redundant safety features because the loads from pressurization and operation pass directly through the flexible materials. Conversely, rigid torsos exhibit excellent structural properties and can be shaped to match the human form, but are heavy and very expensive. Also, rigid torsos have to be made in standard sizes and do not fit a broad population well because of low correlation between various anthropometric measurements within the population. The standard size approach to a rigid torso also has a negative impact on wearer's health because an improper fit and difficulties in donning/doffing and has been proven to cause shoulder injuries.
The Adjustable Pressure Suit Torso of the invention was created to make a step-change in space suit technology that addressed the shortcomings of the available technical approaches and create a new approach that matches future needs in the space program. Future space missions will require improvements in suit performance to improve crew productivity, and logistics to reduce mission cost. The suits will need to be lightweight, fit well, mirror human motion, and provide a high level of safety while pressurized and operating in the harsh environments of space or on planetary surfaces. Perhaps more important to overall mission performance, space suits need to fit a broad population with the fewest number of sizes, be low cost to manufacture and operate, be simple to maintain and repair, and have the lowest overall lifecycle cost possible. For instance, a number of torsos of different sizes must be flown to the International Space Station, stored, maintained, and installed in the suit assembly to accommodate each new astronaut who will fly to the station and perform a spacewalk. The cost of each ounce to orbit and crew cost per minute is in the thousands of dollars range and must be minimized if space travel is to continue or expand.